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. G'S h'eets-- -'Sheet 1. J. MATHISON, V I MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OFSEWING BUTTONSY TO CLOTH, 6w.

Patented Jan. 1 0. 18 82.

Inventor. ad-8 mama,

(No Model.) '6 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. MATHISONL I MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OF SEWING BUTTONS TO CLOTH, &0.No. 252,117; Patented Jan. 10,1882.

mz uoams Pzrzns 00., morouwov WASHINGTON, n. c.

' 6 Sheets-S'heet 3 1. m J. MATHISON.

MACHINE FOR AND METHOD OF SEWING BUTTONS T0 0L 0TH, 6w. Patented Jan.10,1882.

ento r.

lm Js fiflfathiron. z A? (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

J. MATHISON. MACHINE FQR AND METHOD OF SEWING BUTTONSTO GLOT No.252,117.

H, 6:0. Patented Jan. 10,1882.

JosEPH MATHISON, OF LYNN, Ass'rG FFICE NOR TO HIMSELF, o AnLns 3. LAN-MACHINE FOR AND. METHODOF SEWINGBUTTO'NS o CLOTH, e0.

SPECIFICATION forming art of Letters Patent No. 252,117, dated January10,1882,

Application filed November 12, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn MATHISON, of Lynn, of thecounty of Essex andState of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement inMechanism for and Method of Sewing Buttons to 610th or other Materialfand I do hereby declare the same to be described in thefollowing'specification and rep; resented in the accompanying drawings,of which- Figure 1 denotes a section of apiece of sheet material and twobuttons connected thereto by sewing, asperformed by the mechanismhereinafter described. In suchFig. 1,A A denote two buttons, and B apiece of leather or cloth, while 0 is the thread used in connecting suchbuttons to the said piece. Each button has an eye, a. .In making thebutton-connection stitch the thread is first drawn, in the form of aloop, by the rise of the needle, up through the piece B. Next the loopispassed through the eye of the button. A and thence down through thepiece B. Next the thread is carried through the loop or part thereofbelow the piece and drawn tightly bythe shuttle, so as to confine thebutton to the piece. By the same movement the thread is led forward tothe position for the next button, A, to receive It. Theconnection-stitch of this second as well as each succeeding button ofthe set is to be made in the same manner as that for the first buttom.

From the above it. will be seen that by my process one thread only isused in fastening the buttons to the cloth and that each button issecured by a loop of such thread carried twice through the-cloth andonce through the but-toneye also, that the loop is secured in place bypassing the same thread through it. The arrows in the-drawings representthe course of the thread in forming the said connection-stitch,

which is a locked stitch.- It differs materiallyfrom a chain-stitchformed by a series of loops each of which goes through that next it. In'thism achine the sewingis performed by means of a. needle and a shuttle,the latter carrying a bobbin on which the thread used in making thestitch is wound. The needle, a side view of which is given in Fig. 2,hasan eye, o, open through the side and provided with two barbs or books, I0, arranged as represented.

v Fig. 3 is a topview, and'Fi'gs. 4 and 5-oppo- 7 is a. transversesection,.taken longitudinally through the driving-shaft of the machine.The remaining figures are'hereinafter explained.

Myinvention consists in the'peculiar method of securing buttons to clothor-other material and in the peculiar construction, ashereinafterdescribed, of a machine for sewing buttons on clothorleather, in an improved manner to the needle and theirattachmentett'ected' by the loop of a'single thread in a locked stitch,also,in thejrnechanisms for operating the shuttle-driver for feeding thework, for guiding and turning the but tons, and releasing them from thefeeder when they are secured to the fabric or leather, all ashereinafter more specifically set forth.

In the drawings of the said machine A denotes the base portion, and Bthe goose-neck, of the machine, the shuttle Oand thread-guide D andtheir operative mechanisms being within such base, whilcthe needle andthepresser bars .and theiractuating devices are arranged mostwhereby thebuttons are fed the goose-neck, in manner as represented. In

this arm is tllSl'lllltlB-I'HCG, shuttle driver, and

the thread-guide. By means of the'arm a shoe-- upper tohave buttonsfixed to itcan readily be supported, the arm; being within the upperwhile the latter may bein the act-of being sewed.

The shuttle-race is shown at E and the shuttle-driver at F. i The latteris to move rectilinearly in the race. From the driver F an arm, f,jointed thereto, extends rearward and is jointed to the upper end ofalever, g, fulorumed to the baseand jointed to an arm, h.- The said armIt has a slot, h ,-throngh which the driving-shaft extends, and isprovided with a stud to extend into the groove of a camfr', fixed on thedriving-shaft G, such shaft being arranged in the base in manner asrepresented. Fig. 8 is a view of the said described mechanism foroperating the shuttle-driver or imparting to it its intermittentreciprocating motions asmay be required-to throw the shuttle througheach loop in succession. a

feeder two inclined and parallel tongue-s, h,

extend in manner as sliowii,each of which goes between a pair of suchtongues, 6, arranged in the head k of the goose-neck, in manner as shownin Fig 12, which is a view of the interior of the said head. Between thetwo tongues h h the feeder is recessed, as shown at l, the

bottom of the recess being flush with the back of the needle-bar. Aforked lever, m, arranged in the goose-neck and to turn on a fulcrum atn, projects into. the recess and receives between its prongs 0 o astud,p, extending from the needle-bar. An arm, g, at its upper end, isjointed to the rear of the lever m. This arm hasin its lower part aslot, 1', through which the driving-shaft extends. A stud, s, from thearm, enters the groove of. a cam, t, fixed on the drivingshaft, a rearviewof the said arm and cam being shown in Fig. 13. The revolu- 6011 ofthe cam t will impart, through the rod q and lever m, vertical movementsto the neodle-bar I, By reason of the recess Z in the feeder K it willbe seen that said needle-bar is adapted to have alimited verticalmovement independent of said feeder. Thus, on the downward movementofthe forward end of the lever m the needle-bar I will be carried directlydown until the end of said lever strikes the end of the recess 1 in thefeeder K. By this time the needle willhave penetrated the'inaterial, andthe continued downward movement of the end of the lever will impart asimilar movement to the feeder K, in which I the needle-bar slides, andas said feeder is confined by the tongues h and 'i it must of necessitymove forward as it moves, downward, and thisforward movement will beimparted to the'needle and thus to the materiahfeediug the same forward.As

the lever m'commences its return or upward movement the feeder K w1llremain stationary until the lever has reached the top otitherecess-l,when the needle will have cleared the material, and .the continuedupward movement of said lever will impart a return or backward movementto the feeder and-the needlebar. The feeder K is held inposition, exceptas it is moved positively by the lever m, by'the fric will only enterthe shuttle-race far enough for tion-pads u u upon the side plate, 11,of the gooseneck, (see Fig. 14,) said pads being arranged to bearagainst the side of said feeder.

It will be observed that cam t is adapted to impart two strokes to theneedle to each stroke of the shuttle, and that one of these strokes,will be longer than'the other- Thus, when the needle descends to catchthe shuttle-thread it this purpose; but when it descends the second timeit will go down suflicieutly far to permit the "shuttle to catch andopen the loop of the thread carried by the needle, sons to pass throughthe same.

It is obvious that as thelength of feed dependsup'on the throw oftheneedlc a short.

g'nide is a hooked eye, as shown, it being pro-.

jected from ahorizoutal shaft, 10, arrangedin the base. At its end nextthe driving-shaft the shaft w is provided with an arm, as, thatisextended up from it, as shown in Fig. ltgwhich is a view of themechanism for operating the shaft of the thread-guide.-

' A link or rod, y, jointed to the arm as, is also jointed to a lever,z, furnished with a spring, a, to draw-it toward the cam t, on whoseside is fixed another cam, b, to work against a pro.- jection, c, of thelever z. 1 While the cam bis in movement against the said projection,the thread-guide will be raised up so as to forceth'o thread intothe'eye of the needle and prevent freed from the needle, which .thenrises clear of the thread." t

The pressergis'shown atM as extendin g. from a vertical slide-bar, 0provided with a spring,

d, for forciirgfit downward. From the bar a an ear,-e,."extendsovera-cammed lever, f,

a perspective view of which is given in Fig. 1,7,

The said cam-med lever, arranged as shown, and

supported'ou a fulcrum. g, has itsbent arm 71. extended underneath thelever m. A springfi,

fixed to the goose-neckipresses the said arm I upward. As the forwardarm of the levermmay descend it will move the 'cammed'le'verf' so as tocause the press'er to rise in order for the work to be fed along by theneedle. The spring '6? serves to/move the 'cammed lever back to place,while the forward arm of the-lever mnaylbei rising upward.

' The next part of the machine to be described is the button-i'eedeI-N.It consists of a cylindrical hopper, k, provided with an inclined chute,l. q

Fig. .18 is an .end. view, Fig. 19 a top view, and Fig. 20 a'front view,of the lower part of the chute.

Out of the hopper the buttons are discharged into the chute by oneormore passages leadiug into the chute, each of such passages, as

well as the chute, having in its upper side a guide-slot, n to receivethe eyes of the buttons. The chute and its guide-slot at their lowerparts are curved down, so as to cause each of the buttons in passing outof the lower I IQ part of theachute to be turned down into apo- 'sitionforthe needle in descending to pass through the eye of the button. Inthe front side of the chute is a port, for the escape of the button. Indescending to the bottom of I the chute by the force of gravity thebutton will be moved against springs p q, arranged as represented,whereby it will be held by them,

' so as to have its eye extend out of the chute the cloth. the needle isalso again moved or fed forward,

and into the path of the needle. When the work is fed forward thebutton, having been sewed to it, will be drawn out of the chute or awayfrom the supportirig-springs, the upper of which will yield, so as toallow of the escape of the button.

In eifecting the attachment of the buttons to a piece of work or cloththe needle first passes down through the eye of a button and into andthrough the work, and is next moved forward a short distance, so as tofeeder move the work along a like distance; At the-same time thebutton-feeder is moved in alike di rection a like distance- While theneedle is down the thread-guide presses the thread into the open eye ofthe needle and keeps it there until, during the next rise of the needle,the thread may have been drawn up into the work. The needle, aftertaking the thread, rises and draws the thread in the form of a loop upthrough the cloth and the eye of the button.

- Next the needle is moved or fed back beyond the eye of the button, andis made to descend into theoloth and to forcetheloop down through Inthus descending into the cloth and feeds the cloth i'orwarda distancefor it to receive the next button. The button-feederissimultaneouslymoved forward a like distance with the needle. The shuttleis next driven backward through the loop, the needle rising in themeantime and clearing'itself from the loop, and the cloth or work, Theshuttle in go'- in'g back-draws the thread closely into the work andbutton, thelatter,by thedra'ft ofthe thread,

being extracted from the chute. The needle,

having risen out of the work. is fed or moved back to its originalposition, the button-feeder being simultaneously m'pvedback to itsoriginal position, in which case another button will be presented to thework for being sewed to it. The button-ieederis never in the plane ofthe -vertical path of the needle; and hence never obstructs itsmovement, I

Within the hopper of the button-feeder is a reciprocating rotaryagitator, O, which consists of a spindle, r, and sundry masses 8 ofgooseneck. The lower arm of'the le er'v has a stud projecting from itinto the groove 0 of a cam, d fixed on the driving shaft. This cam, in.revolving,.imparts to the lever the movements necessary to effect, byits action against the ears as y, the afore-described movements of thebutton-feeder, and also a reciprocating rotary movement of the agitator.

This movement of the agitator stirs the buttons in the hopper-andfacilitates their passage-into tb'e'chute.

I do not claim any form of stitch as a means of uniting fabrics of anykind; nor do I claim the particular stitch used in my processindependently of the mode in which it is formed and appliedin my machinefor thepurpose of uniting buttons to leatheror other goods, as

hereinbefor'e set forth; but

What I claim as my inve ition is as follows: 1. The method of securingbuttons to cloth automatically feeding the buttons from a receptacle tothe material, then drawing a loop of thread up through the material andthe eye of the button, next forcing the loop down through the materialoutside of the eye of the button, andv then passingthe thread throughsaid loop andtightcning the stitch by drawin g upon the thread passedthrough said loop, and finally Withdrawing the button from the feedingdevice simultaneouslywith the operation of tightening'the stitch, allsubstantially as set forth. 1

.' 2. The mechanism for operating the'shuttleor other material whichconsists essentially in driver, the same consistin g of the combination,

with the driver F, of the arm)", lever g, slotted driving-shaft G, allconstructed, arranged, and operating as setforth.

arm it, provided with a stud, the cam 'i, and

3. The workfeeding device consisting of.

the combination of the vibrating lever in, the

needleH,needle-barI,feeder K, havingtongues h, head k, having tongues i,and the side plate, a, having; friction-pads a a, all constructed,arranged, andoperating substantially as described.

4. In combination with theslitchaf orming mechanism ota sewing-machine,the chute N,

provided with a slotted race turned atits lower end, as described an :1shown, into a position to present the eye of the button directly underand in the path of the needle, in the manner specified.

5-. The combination of the button-feeder N,

standard z, tongue a guides b b, levero,

link a, arm t, spindle 7", and bristles s, all

constructed and operating as and for the pur pose setforth.

6. The combination of the springsp q with the buttonfeeding chute,provided with the' disch'argeport 0 and the button-ey egujde slot in,all being arranged as explained. JOSEPH MATHISON.

Witnesses: 1

B. H. EDDY, E. B. PRATT.

